Large consumer appliances such as washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, ranges, freezers and refrigerators are typically packaged in individual cartons during their transportation from the manufacturer to the retailer, and ultimately to the end purchaser. The use of a carton is important in protecting the exterior of the appliance from potential damage, such as scratching and chipping the finish or even denting the appliance body. Conventional home appliance cartons are formed of one or more pieces of packaging material that form a six sided cuboid box surrounding the appliance. Due to the size and shape of these appliances, as well as the large quantity in which they are manufactured, they are typically shipped without being palletized. Accordingly, rather than use a forklift or similar lift truck to move the cartons, it is often more efficient to use a clamping lift truck that braces one or more cartons simultaneously with opposing lateral clamp arms.
However, the use of a clamping lift truck to lift and move appliance cartons can result in undesirable damage to the carton. In this regard, the opposing lateral forces exerted on the carton's side, from the clamps arms, compress the carton and transfer forces to the top and bottom of the carton, which are made up of folded and interconnected top and bottom flaps. These compressive forces are transmitted along the top and bottom corners of the carton at the front and the rear of carton, which can buckle to form a vertical crease along the front and/or rear panels of the carton. Typically this crease appears along the center of the carton and is visually unattractive. In some instances, this crease extends inwardly and can even contact the appliance contained therein, resulting in undesirable physical and esthetic damage to appliance.
An appliance carton typically includes L-shaped corner posts located between the carton wall and the appliance. These posts, which are typically made of a relatively stiff packaging material, assist in protecting the corners of the appliance and also provide sufficient strength to enable the cartons to be stacked. However, the corner posts also act to transfer the lateral clamping forces to the top and bottom of the carton, resulting in the crease mentioned above.
The present invention solves the aforementioned drawbacks by providing a shipping carton that includes an integrated corner crumple zone for accepting lateral forces exerted on the carton during handling and preventing transfer of the lateral clamping forces to the top and bottom corners of the carton. The present invention provides a carton that is particularly well suited for use in shipping appliances, but may also be beneficial for other shipping and distribution needs, including the shipment of products that have low tolerances to shipping related damage.